Jasmine Marie Arellano

I've been in the accounts receivable field since around 2016, but my professional journey started in healthcare. Before transitioning to finance, I worked in the medical field with cancer patients, HIV and AIDS patients, and mothers going through late-term miscarriages. I loved being a safe space for my patients, especially hearing the real stories of my HIV and AIDS patients about how they contracted the disease, which wasn't what society made it out to be. But I couldn't separate my emotions from what I was seeing, and it was making me physically sick. Losing a terminally ill boy with cancer was the final moment that showed me pediatrics wasn't for me. I came back to New Jersey from Florida in July 2015 and connected with a staffing agency. I started in payroll but knew within six months it wasn't challenging enough for me. The owner saw my value and moved me into accounts payable and receivable, and eventually I focused solely on accounts receivable starting in late 2016. I trained others to take over payroll and accounts payable while I built my expertise in receivables. I worked my way up to senior analyst at the staffing agency and stayed until 2023, when I realized there was no more growth for me there. I always want more, I want to be able to grow and learn. Now I work for an oil and agricultural company where we test oils and agricultural products for shipping containers, ensuring products meet different standards as they move between countries like Mexico and Florida. I've been with them since September 2023. Outside of work, my boyfriend and I cook large meals and walk the streets to hand food out to homeless and hungry people. Through my boyfriend's company, we've also raised money for families in need, like creating and selling shirts for a boy in a coma after a baseball accident.